Yahoo's 10 Greatest Final 4 Games | The Boneyard

Yahoo's 10 Greatest Final 4 Games

Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
370
Reaction Score
1,799
Sorry if already discussed. Yahoo put together a list of the 10 greatest final 4 games. 77-74 came in at number 4 and 04 duke was an honorable mention the whole article is good but our write up is below.

4. UConn 77, Duke 74 (1999 final)​

The 1999 tournament unfolded just as the 2021 version has. Early rounds were full of upheaval. Later rounds, however, left America with the heavyweight showdown it had craved all along.

Duke, led by Elton Brand and Trajan Langdon, with sophomore Shane Battier as a helluva fifth option, seemingly entered the game at its turn-of-the-century peak. It hadn't lost since November. Its 32-game win streak churned through seven top-10 teams. UConn had only lost twice all season, but still entered March 29, 1999, as a nine-point underdog.

Together, they gave us the greatest 40 minutes of basketball that March Madness has ever seen. Rip Hamilton and Langdon traded big-time buckets. The teams traded slender leads. Neither ever led by more than seven.

The only thing they didn't deliver was a memorable finish.
 
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
3,782
Reaction Score
13,346
Defensively it was a great finish. Actually, two great defensive possessions at the end.

Anytime I'm watching any game and the score happens to hit 77-74, I remember 1999.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
22,199
Reaction Score
4,348
I understanding the game having to come down to a last shot for it to be a great game. I don't understand the belief that the last shot has to go in for it to be a great game.

The fact that the game came down to a one on one duel with maybe the best perimeter defender I've ever seen play over the course of a season with a first team all ACC senior leader for Duke is no worse for wear because the defender won. Or for the fact that any UConn fan knew that Langdon wasn't going to get a good shot off. (You can force your opponent into a bad shot and have it go in anyway -- such is the nature of hoops -- but there was no way he was getting a good shot off of Moore one on one.)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 30, 2021
Messages
105
Reaction Score
477
I understanding the game having to come down to a last shot for it to be a great game. I don't understand the belief that the last shot has to go in for it to be a great game.

The fact that the game came down to a one on one duel with maybe the best perimeter defender I've ever seen play over the course of a season with a first team all ACC senior leader for Duke is no worse for wear because the defender won. Or for the fact that any UConn fan knew that Langdon wasn't going to get a good shot off. (You can force your opponent into a bad shot and have it go in anyway -- such is the nature of hoops -- but there was no way he was getting a good shot off of Moore one on one.)

And Kansas Memphis had an exciting finish only because Memphis completely choked at the end. Memphis missed their last 7 shots in regulation (5 free throws, 2 shots). Really you could argue their last 10 shot since 3 of those misses were 1 and 1s. So crazy ending and exciting, but that only happened because one of the teams completely blew it. The other games featured great teams trading blows back and forth right until the end. I feel like one team totally blowing it should knock it down the list even if it had a buzzer beater to force OT.
 
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
5,476
Reaction Score
13,067
And Kansas Memphis had an exciting finish only because Memphis completely choked at the end. Memphis missed their last 7 shots in regulation (5 free throws, 2 shots). Really you could argue their last 10 shot since 3 of those misses were 1 and 1s. So crazy ending and exciting, but that only happened because one of the teams completely blew it. The other games featured great teams trading blows back and forth right until the end. I feel like one team totally blowing it should knock it down the list even if it had a buzzer beater to force OT.
Kansas Memphis was the biggest choke job in all my years of watching NCAA tournaments. . There is nothing great in choking. The game was over until Memphis gave it back to them.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
35,148
Reaction Score
29,368
Sorry if already discussed. Yahoo put together a list of the 10 greatest final 4 games. 77-74 came in at number 4 and 04 duke was an honorable mention the whole article is good but our write up is below.

4. UConn 77, Duke 74 (1999 final)​

The 1999 tournament unfolded just as the 2021 version has. Early rounds were full of upheaval. Later rounds, however, left America with the heavyweight showdown it had craved all along.

Duke, led by Elton Brand and Trajan Langdon, with sophomore Shane Battier as a helluva fifth option, seemingly entered the game at its turn-of-the-century peak. It hadn't lost since November. Its 32-game win streak churned through seven top-10 teams. UConn had only lost twice all season, but still entered March 29, 1999, as a nine-point underdog.

Together, they gave us the greatest 40 minutes of basketball that March Madness has ever seen. Rip Hamilton and Langdon traded big-time buckets. The teams traded slender leads. Neither ever led by more than seven.

The only thing they didn't deliver was a memorable finish.
Memorable enough for me to almost pass out from joy.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
5,782
Reaction Score
15,762
Kansas Memphis was the biggest choke job in all my years of watching NCAA tournaments. . There is nothing great in choking. The game was over until Memphis gave it back to them.
Such an important point here - a great finish often is the result of some utterly horrible play by one or both teams. That doesn't make it a great game.

UCLA-Gonzaga and Duke-UConn were both two teams playing at a high level, no one injured, the game was not decided by officials (he 100% traveled), and was decided by a team making plays to get the win instead of making plays to lose. That makes such a huge difference in overall game quality.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
5,852
Reaction Score
19,517
Sorry if already discussed. Yahoo put together a list of the 10 greatest final 4 games. 77-74 came in at number 4 and 04 duke was an honorable mention the whole article is good but our write up is below.
that was the chip game not a final 4 game...why combine the two rounds? UConn v. Duke 2004 should have made the list as best final 4 games ie semi-final games
 

Online statistics

Members online
482
Guests online
3,730
Total visitors
4,212

Forum statistics

Threads
155,807
Messages
4,032,179
Members
9,865
Latest member
Sad Tiger


Top Bottom